"He (Liambas) wasn't even worried about the puck," said Lambert, known as a tough guy who made his living with his fists in the NHL. "He lined him (Fanelli) up and charged him. It was tough to watch."

Wednesday, Ontario Hockey League commissioner David Branch suspended Liambas for the remainder of the season - playoffs included.

Liambas was assessed a match penalty for boarding after his hit on Fanelli.

The Kitchener defenceman's helmet flew off, the back of his head hit the ice and he was knocked unconscious.

Fanelli was taken to a local hospital by ambulance before being airlifted to Hamilton General Hospital with skull and facial fractures.

The 16-year-old's condition has since been upgraded from critical to serious, but stable.

Because he feels the Liambas hit crossed the line, Lambert said he agreed with Branch's decision to effectively end the 20-year-old's OHL career.

"From what I've seen, it wasn't a clean hit," Lambert said. "He (Liambas) hit him with his shoulder - I don't think he hit him dirty. But he took such a run at him. It wasn't the most vicious hit I've ever seen, but it was the most vicious outcome of a hit I've ever seen."

Liambas is a five-foot-nine, 200-pound winger. While Fanelli is four inches taller, he's 25 pounds lighter.

After a league review, Branch issued a statement Wednesday.

"Players must understand they shall be held accountable for their actions," the commissioner said. "We must all work towards improving the level of respect players have towards opposing players and the game in general."

Rangers head coach and general manager Steve Spott said he believes the OHL sent a message to its players.

"What I take out of it is players in this league are going to be held accountable for their actions," Spott said. "That speaks volumes to all players in this league that the respect we have for all of our opponents has got to be there."

The Otters, whose managing partner, Sherry Bassin, is a former Greyhounds general manager, posted a statement on the team's website Wednesday.

"While the team regrets that this stern response was necessary. . . we respect the decision," the statement read. "We would be remiss if we did not note in parting that Mike was a popular teammate and an able contributor to the team in his time with Erie. He is an exemplary young man and we wish him well in his future endeavours."

Hounds general manager Dave Torrie said he wasn't interested in "analyzing" the hit.

He said he watched videotape of the incident on the Internet and on televised sportscasts.

"But I haven't slowed the play down in slow-motion to analyze it," the Soo GM said. "I've chosen not to overanalyze it. When you see a player hit to that extent with those repercussions, it's not something I'm comfortable watching."

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While he said he respects Branch's decision to suspend Liambas for the rest of the season, Torrie added he believes the commissioner is in a no-win situation.

There are people who'll claim the penalty is too harsh, Torrie noted, and those who believe it isn't harsh enough.

"But Dave has always been consistent," Torrie said. "Though I haven't always agreed with him, I've always respected him. He has the league's and players' best interests in mind and he's been consistent in that players must respect each other. He also believes the league must be a fair place for all to play."

The Sault's Jamie Appleton has been a local hockey official since 1997. He worked as an OHL linesman for nine seasons before retiring following the 2008-2009 campaign.

Appleton said Wednesday he saw the incident on a televised newscast Tuesday.

"It's definitely a boarding call," Appleton opined. "You can't use the boards to hit someone that hard. A good body check doesn't mean you can hit someone as hard as you want into the boards."

Appleton said a player, such as Liambas, must consider the fact that his hit is taking another player into the boards.

"He's got to be punished, but I'm sure he wasn't trying to injure the guy. He just wants to make a big hit. When you see a guy skating across ice and he sticks the elbow out, you know he wants to injure a guy. This guy here (Liambas), he just wants to make a big hit."